Hakaluki sees rise in fish production after Sylhet floods

Fish production in Hakaluki haor, the country's largest marshland and one of the key mother fisheries, has risen significantly following flash floods in Sylhet last year.

According to the Department of Fisheries (DoF), average fish production in Hakaluki rose by 5-7% and the year-on-year production is expected to rise by 4,000 tonnes this year.   

For several years, fish production in the haor was 14,000 tonnes per year, on average, which later increased to record 17,000 tonnes in 2017.

Afterwards, the production witnessed a decline. In the fiscal year 2018-19, Moulvibazar produced a total of 48,112 tonnes of fishes, of which 10,270 tonnes came from Hakaluki. In the district, 50,518 tonnes of fishes were produced in the fiscal year 2019-20, 51,552 tonnes in the fiscal year 2020-21 and 52,325 tonnes in the fiscal year 2021-22; of which Hakaluki contributed 12,981 tonnes, 20,977 tonnes and 24,240 tonnes respectively in the three FYs, said sources from DoF.

The Department of Fisheries has set the fish production target at 53,109 tonnes in Moulvibazar with 28,000 tonnes in Hakaluki for the current FY 2022-23. 

Fisheries officials expect that the 5-7% year-on-year rise in fish production in the haor may extend up to 10% by year-end.

Visiting the haor recently, fishermen, wholesalers and leaseholders were seen passing busy times trading fishes in various beels as traders from around the country thronged there.

Fish traders said that per day sales went up to Tk1 crore.

With a festive mood prevailing in the area, leaseholders installed makeshift centres on the banks of the beels in Juri, Kulaura and Barlekha upazilas where visiting traders purchase fish directly from the fishermen.

However, if uncontrolled catching of fish and filling of the beels were prevented, the fish production in the haor would have doubled every year, said fishermen.

In order to increase production, it is important to increase the permanent habitat of fish along with stopping fishing during the breeding season. If the beels are not excavated now to protect the haor, the production of fish will decline, the banks will fill up and turn flat, they added.

According to data provided by the district fisheries officer, the haor had 238 bills in the past, which has now decreased to around 200, meaning 38 bills have already been filled or added to other bills.

Local fishermen informed The Business Standard that they have found various endangered species of fishes, along with native species and other small fishes.

Niranjan Ghosh, a local fish trader and commission agent, told TBS that per kilogram of fish is sold at Tk400-1,500 depending on size and species. Fish caught from the haor worth Tk 1 crore are sold every day in various parts of the country. 

"As a result of multifaceted aggression, the haor is losing its natural balance. Uncontrolled fishing is going and the beels are getting filled up day by day. As a result, the desired amount of fish is not available," said a beel leaseholder Md Jamir Ali.

"If the haor was properly protected, fish production would have skyrocketed. The demand for Hakaluki haor fish is high all over the country, because of its high taste, but the quantity of fish is decreasing day by day owing to various reasons. No effective action is being taken in this regard," another leaseholder Habibur Rahman Habib told TBS.

Moulvibazar Fisheries Officer Muhammad Mizanur Rahman told TBS, "According to the fisheries department, fish production has increased in the haor this year due to flash floods in Sylhet in 2022. However, it is necessary to take planned initiatives to increase the production of fisheries in the future by acknowledging the multifaceted invasion of the haor".

"Every year, fishes from this haor are sold in various parts of the country to fulfill the local demand. Like last year, many species of endangered fish are found this time, of which there are 13 endangered species and 8 critically endangered species," he added.